Aston Villa confirmed earlier in February that Jacob Ramsey signed a new deal which will keep him in the Midlands until 2025 and Alan Hutton was delighted with that development.
The former Villa defender believes it is “great” that the club have secured the future of a talented academy star and said that the 19-year-old “looked a class player” when he saw him training in the past. He told Football Insider:
I think it’s great for the club and it shows what they’re doing, they’re willing to give out the contract to the young boys that deserve it, really bring them through, integrate them into the team and give them an opportunity, first and foremost.
I obviously saw it in small amounts when I was there, he was obviously very young, but he was still training and he looked a class player. He’s taking everything in his stride, nothing seems to faze him so I think it’s good for everybody involved and now he can just concentrate, get his head down and try to break into that team.
Before his step up to the first team, the England under-20 international made 38 appearances for Aston Villa’s under-18s, scoring an impressive 16 goals and supplying four assists. He was promoted to the under-23s permanently in 2018/19 and made 27 appearances at that level, scoring eight goals and supplying seven assists. [Transfermarkt]
Ramsey was then loaned out to Doncaster in 2019/20 and scored three goals in seven games before being promoted to Villa’s first team this season. He has gone on to make 11 appearances in all competitions this season, supplying one assist.
The 19-year-old edged his way ahead of Conor Hourihane in the midfield pecking order, resulting in the 30-year-old being loaned out to Swansea City in January, and he is now pressuring Ross Barkley for a starting place.
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Villa tying down Ramsey for another four-and-a-half-years is just reward for his development in the last 12 months.
He is now on the fringes of Dean Smith’s starting XI and is sure to get more first team opportunities before the season ends. It’s not hard to see why Hutton feels the club have pulled off a masterstroke by getting his contract sorted.
